today mitch mcconnell did not signal, a big surprise, he was ready to compromise. the tree stump ain't moving. let's listen. >> the time for the president to lead is now, and that means offering a concrete plan that takes into account the fact that half the congress opposes tax hikes. not because we're selfish, not because we're stubborn, but we know it is the wrong thing to do. we know it will hurt the economy, and we know it will destroy jobs. >> you know, the nonsense behind that, guys, is that if you go by who we elect to congress deciding our national policy, then by that standard heidi heitkamp winning in north dakota means north dakota is a liberal state, and tester winning in montana means that's a democratic state or that mccaskill winning missouri -- no, that's not how we vote. we vote nationally for the president, and we have an electoral college to decide it. let me go back to dennis. give us your sense, the nea is filled with very lit rat, very smart people with tremendous understandings of the public policy. what does your rank and file like to see ge